Need Bowsprit Bronze Star

[Calliste]

Ahoy All , currently looking for a 1 1/2" - 1 3/4" outside diameter X 3/8" rear stud - shank , 5 point bronze star, for the end of my bowsprit.

Port Townsend Foundry has a star with a female threaded socket on the back, but the star diameter is too large, for my bowsprit.

I plan to attend the Wooden Boat Show at Mystic Seaport, CT , on June 28th., does anyone know a source for a bronze star, from a vender attending that show ?

Are there any other sources for a bronze star like this ?

This is my first time visiting VT, NH, and MI . I have noticed while driving, that a few residential houses have a large 5 point star mounted prominantly somewhere on their house. What is the special meaning of this star, or is it just a decoration ?

Douglas, S/V Calliste

[Tom Robb]

Wiccan?

[rbgarr]

Try here

http://tinyurl.com/6zassm

http://www.bristolbronze.com/products.htm

[sawcutmill]

Fraternal order, or fireman?

[Jay Greer]

Check the Chandlery at The Wooden Boat Foundation in Port Townsend. I believe they have some stars.
http://www.woodenboat.org/
Jay

[Calliste]

Thank You Guys, for your replys. I have searched the internet first, before my post, and didn't find anything appropriate.

I remember the last star was a 2" diameter, and I had to cut it down and re-shape it to 1 3/4" diameter.

The 3/8" dia., X 2" long shank fit the hole, for the dead center pin, I used to taper / shape - round, the fwd bowsprit end for fitting the cranze iron.

I think an outside center pin in the middle of the star, is visually distracting,,,, so I continue to look for that back-shanked version.

Douglas

[Thorne]

Best of luck! I also poked around for a star the same size, but am learning to love the nekkid end of the bowsprit just as it is...

;0 )

[Jay Greer]

Pete Langley at PT Foundry can make you a pattern can cast a star of the appropriate size. Then you can market the rest of the run.
Jay

[captboo]

I might have what you need. I'll have to dig it up, but I think its the size your looking for. You can call if you'd like 386-530-1226

[David W Pratt]

Davey
They are in England.
Good luck.

[Bob Cleek]

"Stars" and such are popular "steal me" items in a lot of harbors. For the end of a sprit, you might consider carving one right there on the sprit itself and then gold leafing it. The buggers would have a tough time ripping that one off! No problems with fastening it on neatly either.

[Calliste]

Bob , you caught me in a low moment,,, just why don't we chuck out all wooden boatbuilding, in entirety ?

If we can't find the wood we need, why bother, in the first place !

[paladin]

That very event put me in a nasty mood......The bronze star on Tana Mari was made that way, I had it heavily gold plated/polished, drilled a 3/8ths in hole in the sprit, then a hole from the side to lock it in place, really well finished the woodwork and repainted the end of the sprit, and some GD SOB cut the last 3 inches off the sprit for the star....
lessee...as a federally documented vessel, would that be the same as terrorism for screwing with an aircraft?

[Bob Cleek]

Gosh, Paladin... If I'd known it was YOUR boat... LOL

(I know the feeling. Some GD SOB ripped off my staysail halyard last year. Lock stock and barrel. Probably wanted the fancywork pull on the Nico snap shackle. Pretty sorry SOB to have to steal rope off a boat!)

[Calliste]

OK Guys, You Win ! There will be No bronze star on my new replacement bowsprit.
Currently my boat is in SE Asia, and I have been dressing her down, more and more lately, because if you have anything nice looking over there, you are a prime target for thieves.
Thanks for the Heads Up.

Douglas

[paladin]

Singapore......Ah, Yes!......before I had all the systems up and running on the new boat, I decided a night or two ashore would be nice.....hot showers, nice bed, etc....at the Raffles Hotel...despite leaving a light on in the main cabin with curtain s over the windows.....that's when the bastards came aboard and high jacked anything that wasn't rigidly nailed down......less than 2 weeks later a couple of items showed up in a local shop......the s.o.b. that owned the shop wasn't very happy when I put the barrel of my weapon against his knee and threatened to pull the trigger if he didn't squak.....it was his nephew that liked to raid boats at the yacht club.....and then I got less than half the stuff back......

[Calliste]

Sorry to hear your S'pore story, Paladin, but it is still happening all over SE Asia, today.

When you come first time into port, you ask around if anyone else is having theft or other local problems, and you hear almost nothing.

Then later when your guard is down, you get hit very hard,,,, all of a sudden people come out of the woodwork, talking about all the past history of thefts from the marina,,,,,, and now you are only a statistic, for everyone to forget about,,,, until someone else gets hit.

Things are getting worse too,,,, with the higher cost of food and fuel, locals are more hungry than ever,,,, also combine this with the higher prices paid for scrap metal,,,,, we boat owners are at a much greater risk, than ever before.

The latest rash of thievings, are from public property, where contractor-uniformed workers are carrying away aluminum and SS railings, with out anyone noticing, during daylight working hours.

I am expecting that whole saiboats with their aluminum and SS rigging and fittings, will be stolen, stripped and the remnants sunk, in the very near future,,,,, probably is already happening !

So , there will be no bronze star planned for the end of Calliste's new bowsprit, anymore ! drats !

Douglas

[paladin]

I was offered employment there...at the embassy/consulate and took a trip over from Pattaya to look around.....I eventually accepted the job for 6 months until they could get a permanent employee, but it meant that I hired a couple to live aboard when I wasn't there.....and most of the work was done on the spot...the embassy would have the equipment delivered to me, I would work on it and send it back...so it was mostly an on-call arrangement where I worked an honest average of 3-4 hours a day 5 days a week, but got paid for a 40 hour week.
The end benefit, was that although my boat was built in Thailand, some of the detail work was done in Singapore, and as long as the folks that were on the boat were "employees" nothing disappeared....when I paid everyone off the week before leaving it was like open house with a monstrous sign that said everything here is free, feel free to take what you want.
From there I went to Phuket....totally different.